Dragons Roar at Basel
March 10, 12(IDEX Online News) – Although each year of the Chinese calendar is named for an animal, the Year of the Dragon, which began on January 23, seems to have especially caught the attention of jewelry and watch designers.
Watch by Damiani |
The dial of the “Golden Dragon” watch by Kudoke features a gold-plated dragon while the L.U.C. Tourbillon Dragon from Chopard boasts an engraving of the mythical beast on the plate of the internally manufactured movement.
As part of its Mimosa collection, Damiani has released the Mimosa Dragon. The watch is available in two versions, one featuring an 18 karat white gold case with 24 diamonds and 22 sapphires, the other comprised entirely of white gold and 46 white diamonds.
While dragon lovers may be a niche market, other trends are more universal. Echoing a movement seen on the red carpet towards shoulder dusting jewels, earrings have gone long – and they have gone big. Chandelier earrings are living up to their name evoking crystal drops and chains. Pearl company Utopia has some stunning examples on display.
Bows are also putting in an appearance adding an especially feminine touch to all types of jewelry. The bows are present either as accents on rings, earrings or pendants, or as the main feature. We especially love those tied up at Pasquale Bruni.
The shape of the show seems to be the pear or tear drop. It’s evident in all types of pieces, from chain links and large cabochon rings to pendants and earrings. The shape works especially well with the large array of colored gemstones present in the vitrines.
Finally, when it comes to gemstones, one trend that we are just not seeing as much as we thought we would do is gem slice jewelry. It looks like this unique way of displaying beautiful gemstones in their essentially raw state still needs time to heat up.